OPP offer ‘Today’s Tip – Child Safety!”

The annual Provincial Seatbelt Campaign runs from March 30 to April 2, 2018. OPP are offering the following tips:

Today’s Tip: Child Safety!

Child Car Seats for Infants

Newborn babies and infants need special protection while in a vehicle. In a collision, a properly installed rear-facing child car seat can save your baby’s life.

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act requires children to use a rear-facing car seat until the child weighs at least 9 kg (20 lb.).

When a child outgrows the maximum weight or height limits of an infant rear-facing car seat, they may move to a larger convertible infant/child car seat and stay rear-facing until the child is ready to face forward.

Child Car Seats for Toddlers

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act allows children weighing 9 kg to 18 kg (20 to 40 lb.) to use a forward-facing child car seat or a rear-facing car seat as long as the car seat manufacturer recommends its use.

It’s best to keep your child in a forward-facing child car seat until they reach the manufacturer’s recommended maximum weight and height limits.

A forward-facing car seat uses a tether strap to prevent the child car seat from moving forward and causing injury in a collision. It is important to use the tether strap exactly as the manufacturer recommends.

Booster Seats

Booster seats raise children so adult seat belts protect them better. Booster seats protect children from serious injury 3-½ times better than seat belts alone.

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act requires children weighing 18 kg to 36 kg (40 to 80 lb.), standing less than 145 cm (4 ft. 9 in.) tall and who are under the age of 8 to use a booster seat or allows the continued use of a forward-facing seat as long as the car seat manufacturer recommends its use. It’s best to keep your child in a booster seat until they reach the manufacturer’s recommended maximum weight and height limits.

Seatbelts

Seatbelts are designed for adults and older children. Children may be ready to move from a booster seat to a vehicle’s seatbelt once:

• They can sit all the way against the back of the vehicle seat with legs bent comfortably over the edge and maintain this position for the entire trip
• They can have the shoulder belt flat across the shoulder and chest
• The lap belt crosses over the hips, not the stomach

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act allows a child to use a seatbelt alone when any one of the following occurs:

• Child turns 8 years old, or
• Child weighs 36 kg (80 lb.), or
• Child is 145 cm (4 ft. 9 in.) tall or more

All drivers are responsible for ensuring that passengers under 16 are secured properly or they could face fines totalling $240 or more.

Reference: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/choose-car-seat.shtml